by Elana Brooks
“No. Which means they’re probably only in close contact intermittently. If they ever form one, the contact, and the ability to receive visions, would be constant.”
The alien’s muscular black tail thrashed. “Dovex, can you remove Steve Miller’s immunity to the shield?”
The other Seraphim ducked its snout. “Unfortunately, no. The alterations I made to the Human’s brain destroyed the receptors our shield uses to access their minds. It might be possible to retune the entire shield to use different receptors, but that would require disabling it for a short time while the adjustments were applied. During that brief period, our actions would be completely unshielded. Every Human with any degree of precognitive sensitivity would be able to receive visions of what we intend to do.”
“Unacceptable.” Sarthex returned his attention to Sarangerel. “Steve Miller is no longer of any use to us. If you’re right, his immunity to our shield has become a threat to our plans. It must be eliminated. We intend to take certain actions which the Humans must not foresee, lest they take measures to counter them.”
He opened his mouth. A ripple of fear ran down Sarangerel’s back at the sight of his gleaming, talon-sharp teeth. His vicious hiss echoed through the bridge. Every smaller Seraphim ducked, many of them covering their faces with their topmost fins. She summoned all her courage to stiffen her backbone and hold her chin high in the face of his intimidation.
“Luckily, there’s a simple solution to the problem. I want Angel to redirect its efforts. The rest of the Covenant can wait. Your first priority now is to hunt down Steve Miller and Rosalia Escamillo and kill them.”
Chapter 17
Present
Rosalia reached out to Steve’s mind. Still asleep. She cursed silently in English and Spanish. How late had he stayed up last night? Her first session of the day was about to start. Now they wouldn’t be able to scan for visions until it was over, two hours from now.
She couldn’t skip out on the other recruiters again. The madhouse at the convention center hadn’t died down. If anything, it had increased. The Covenant had persuaded the management to cancel every other event scheduled to take place for the next month and turn over the space to them. All the new slots had been filled within ten minutes of going up on the website.
Adrian had greeted her with barely disguised relief when she’d returned. They’d pored over the revised schedule together. By calling in every Covenant member who’d ever taken a yoga class, arranging to open as many dividers as possible to combine rooms, and eliminating lunch and dinner breaks for both of them and a few other of the most experienced recruiters, they’d managed to cover all the sessions. The line of people waiting was so long, they could have filled as many sessions over again if they’d had the space and personnel.
She gave up trying to wake Steve, opened her eyes, and gazed around the huge space in despair. The divider folded against the back wall had previously split the hall into the two biggest rooms. She’d struggled to manage one of them in the allotted time. Now she was responsible for double the number of candidates each session. During meditation she’d have to race down the rows, sparing each hopeful only a cursory glance, and she still might not get to all of them without running late.
Her brief breaks would be occupied contacting Steve and scanning for visions. She didn’t know how she could survive a day of this pace without succumbing to exhaustion, let alone weeks of it. But the screening sessions were booked solid for months, until long after the Seraphim ship was due to arrive.
The mats were nearly full. A handful of stragglers hurried to their places as she glanced at her watch. There must have been a few no-shows, and reception had replaced them with walk-ups. She’d give them one more minute to get settled before she started.
One of the newcomers caught her eye as he strode across the crowded floor toward an isolated empty mat. There was something familiar about—
Carlos!
Rosalia slammed her shields tight around her mind, hoping she’d caught the errant thought before it escaped. She forced her face to stay blank, devoid of any recognition. While greeting the students with a welcoming smile, she studied him out of the corner of her eye. He must know who she was, but he was giving no sign, only settling onto his mat like everyone else.
He didn’t know she and Steve had broken the memory block. He must assume she wouldn’t recognize him. But why was he here?
Horrified comprehension flooded her. He meant to infiltrate the Covenant. It would be easy for him to separate his astral form from his body just enough to appear a promising candidate. He’d be identified and sent to training. Within a few days, as quickly as they were moving candidates through the process, he’d be assigned some task a novice could be expected to handle. When he showed competence, he’d move up through the ranks fast. By the time the Seraphim ship reached Earth, he’d be in a position to betray the Covenant.
But why her session? Even if he was confident the memory block remained in place, why take even a small risk of coming to the attention of the one person in the Covenant who might realize who he really was? Had it simply been luck—good for the Covenant, bad for him—that a vacancy had opened up in her room? Or was there some reason he’d chosen this recruiting session over all the others taking place right now in cities around the world?
The other possibility didn’t occur to her until several minutes after she’d delivered the opening spiel, forcing her voice to remain steady, and begun instructing the class in the first, simplest poses. When it hit her, she had to disguise her gasp with a cough. What if Angel had sent Carlos here to assassinate her? Sarangerel had followed her and Steve to Los Angeles and tried to kill them both. When her attack failed, maybe she hadn’t given up. Maybe she’d deduced or guessed or somehow psychically divined that Rosalia was the one who’d foreseen their attempt to bomb the New York headquarters. Maybe she and the other leaders of Angel had decided their chances of success would be better next time if they eliminated her first.
She pondered her options as she continued to direct the session, the words and motions so familiar she could continue them with reasonable competence while her attention was distracted. If Carlos was here to join the Covenant, she should let him. He would maintain his disguise as just another hopeful. When she failed to react to his presence, he’d conclude she didn’t remember their encounter in Santiago and hadn’t noticed him. She could notify the Covenant of his true identity, and they could take the appropriate actions. Pretend to trust him, steer him to some role where his betrayal couldn’t hurt them, and feed him false information to pass on to Angel. With careful management, a known spy in their midst could prove a significant strategic advantage.
On the other hand, if he meant to attack her, she had to be ready to fight. He would be waiting when she emerged from her body, unwary and vulnerable. He would strike hard and fast, hoping to overwhelm her before she could raise her defenses or summon help.
Could she take him alone? Remembering how easily he’d overpowered her last time, she doubted it. She was much more skilled in the use of her powers now than she’d been then, but he’d had the kind of relaxed, thoughtless strength she associated with Steve and the rest of the Eight. She’d have a moment of surprise before he realized she was expecting him, but it probably wouldn’t be enough. She would need help.
The other instructors were nearby. They’d all be out of their bodies at that point in the session, scanning candidates, able to respond swiftly if she called. But she hated to disturb them if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. The Covenant needed every recruit it could get. They might lose dozens if this session wasn’t completed successfully.
That left one alternative. She didn’t care how little sleep he’d gotten; she needed him. She focused her thoughts into a fierce, tight beam and battered his unresponsive mind. Steve!
Finally, groggily, he answered. Rosalia?
She poured the situation into his mind. At first he returned only confusion, but by the
time she finished, his thoughts had sharpened. I’m on my way. Tell me again, slower. I missed the beginning.
She repeated everything, taking comfort in his solid, supportive reaction.
I’m at the convention center now, just outside. You’re in the same spot as before?
Close. She showed him the expanded room, her position in it, and the place where Carlos was following her through pose after pose on his mat. Wait just outside the wall. We can’t let on we’re aware of him if he’s really trying to get recruited.
The odds of that are slim. Steve’s mental voice was grim. He won’t see me if I peek through camouflaged. He showed her what he meant. A tiny portion of his astral fleshed pierced the outer wall of the building. He kept it flat against the inner surface, giving it the color and texture of the surrounding wall. See?
Are you sure?
It worked on Sarthex.
She couldn’t argue with that. All right. But let him make the first move. We don’t know he’s hostile. He might just want to talk.
If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to sell you.
Rosalia didn’t, but she didn’t want to put Steve at risk unnecessarily, either. Wait.
She sensed his grudging agreement. Reassured by his presence, she returned her focus to leading the class.
At last the time for final meditation arrived. Rosalia made sure her voice maintained the same soothing, hypnotic tone as always. “Now, let your mind drift. Let your body float, weightless. Rest in silence and peace until I call you back to awareness.” She made the mental adjustment to disconnect her astral self from her physical form, but didn’t move. What’s he doing?
Nothing. Not even a finger coming out.
Rosalia relaxed, although she was more puzzled than ever. That fit with neither of her scenarios. I guess he’s just here to watch how we run the sessions? Maybe Angel isn’t having much luck with recruiting and wants to improve their technique.
Or maybe he’s seeing who we chose so he can approach them later.
That made sense. We can track them and catch him if he does. She took a deep breath. I’m coming out now. She prepared to summon astral energy if necessary. She probably wouldn’t need to, but best to keep her guard up, just in case.
She sat up, swiftly scanned the room, then climbed to her feet. I don’t see—
A blast of energy exploded from the floor at her toes and consumed her tether along with a big chunk of her astral flesh. Pain radiated through her, far more intense than the loss of a foot or hand during a friendly game of energyball had ever caused. Another burst took off her head, and everything went dark. She blundered away from the attack, unable to find her body without eyes, unable to summon a shield or a return blast without hands. Steve!
His rage and fear loomed immense in her awareness, but his voice was calm and gentle. She clung to it, her only point of contact in a world rapidly falling apart as her self disintegrated. I’ve got you shielded so he can’t hit you again. Re-form yourself smaller from the astral flesh you have left. It’s quicker than waiting to regenerate.
She caught his memory of seeing Sarthex do what he described. It wasn’t easy to quiet her panic enough to follow his instructions, but eventually she managed. Light blossomed as new eyes formed. A glowing astral shield surrounded her. Through its translucent substance she saw Steve looming over her, grown to a giant. No, she realized, she had shrunk to doll-like proportions. Such a tiny amount of astral flesh remained to contain her soul. She fought resurgent panic. It would regenerate. As long as Carlos didn’t destroy any more, she’d be fine.
And as long as she returned to her body in time. Her tether was gone, no broken end in sight. She searched frantically for the one mat among hundreds which held her recumbent form.
“It’s right there,” Steve said, his voice grim and fierce. His massive arm gestured. Her gaze followed where he pointed.
Her enormous body lay on its mat, without breath, without pulse. Over it towered Carlos, tree-trunk legs straddling her torso, hands raised. The sight filled Rosalia with terror. How can I get back in time?
Take a page from his book of tricks and go through the floor. I’ll keep him distracted. The shield around her thickened, becoming opaque. Steve’s voice thundered in her ears. “Get away from her body.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. The two of you are too great a threat to allow to survive. I regret the necessity of killing you, but I’m resolved to do so.”
“Then die, asshole!” A brilliant flash brightened her surrounding sphere.
Suddenly Rosalia understood what Steve had meant. Her training had never covered this, but it ought to be simple enough. She fought her subconscious mind’s resistance until she was able to make her astral form sink into the floor.
So this was how Carlos had ambushed her. She slid through the darkness until she thought she was close to where her body lay. Cautiously she poked a bit of astral flesh into the open and forced it to grow an eye. Steve had been able to see without an eye being visible, but her skills weren’t that advanced. The perspective confused her for a moment, but once she was able to orient herself, she realized she’d overshot her goal. Her body lay a foot away. Carlos’s back was to her. He was focused on Steve, who was hurling ball after ball of astral energy at his tether, fueled by murderous rage.
Rosalia dove into her head. For a horrible instant she feared her astral self was too damaged to rejoin her physical flesh. But after a much longer than usual stretch of confusion and dizziness, she finally drew a long, shuddering breath.
For a few seconds she trembled and panted, belated adrenaline coursing through her system. She wasn’t dead. Now that her forms were united, Carlos’s balls of energy couldn’t hurt her.
He could use other methods to kill her, though. It wouldn’t take much telekinetic force to break open a few blood vessels in her brain. And Steve was still vulnerable to astral weapons. She didn’t think Carlos was stronger than Steve, but he might be equally strong.
She drew astral energy into her body until her astral form was fully regenerated. It took much less time than it did when she was separated. With more difficulty than usual, she made the mental adjustment and released her hold on her physical flesh. She let her astral eyes drift up just a bit, until they were barely clear and she could see into the astral realm.
Carlos still stood over her, but he was battered, several chunks of astral flesh missing. Steve had forced himself and the spherical shield at his feet much closer. The balls of energy flew too fast and hard between the two men for her to tell who had the upper hand.
She wanted to let Steve know she was okay, but she didn’t dare distract him for even an instant. Instead, she separated her right hand and surreptitiously summoned a ball of energy. Just a small one, so Carlos wouldn’t notice the glow. It didn’t have to be big to get the job done.
The moment she was waiting for came. Carlos flung up a shield to block Steve’s latest attack, then dropped it and raised both hands to return fire. His tether protruded from his chest, unprotected.
She flung the ball of energy straight and true. It cut cleanly through Carlos’s tether. She waited until the end retreated out of the building before she released the taunt she’d been holding back. How do you like it?
Carlos glanced down, took in the situation immediately, and abandoned the fight. He zoomed after his tether in a bright blur and vanished through the wall.
Steve fell to his knees and scooped her into his arms. She sagged against his chest, ragged gasps turning to sobs. He rocked her, his face buried in her hair. Rosalia couldn’t control the shivers that wracked her body, but eventually they subsided enough for her to speak. “That was too close.”
“Too damn close,” he agreed fervently.
She desperately wanted to wrap her arms and legs around him and quench her terror in the comfort of his body, but she couldn’t. She had a job to do. Already she’d lost a great deal of time. She pulled out of his grasp and struggle
d to her feet. “We’ve got to finish the screening. You take that side of the room; I’ll take this one.”
He gave her a searching glance, but didn’t argue. “Stay in telepathic contact. That way if they try anything else, you’ll get a warning.”
She nodded and strode down the row of supine bodies, aware of him doing the same. Thank goodness none of the candidates had blundered out of their bodies in the middle of the fight. As long as their astral eyes had remained joined to their physical ones, they couldn’t have seen anything. And she, Steve and Carlos had all kept their telepathy tightly focused on each other, so they shouldn’t have heard anything, either. The last thing they needed was to drag untrained innocents into their conflict.
At first it was almost impossible to concentrate, but eventually she forced herself to focus on her task. An arm here, a leg there. She memorized the mat numbers. Three-quarters of the way across the room, a rush of vindication filled her when she spotted a girl—she couldn’t be more than sixteen—with both arms and both legs floating. A strong talent, at least as strong as Rosalia was. It would have been a significant loss to the Covenant if she’d been missed.
When she reached the end of the mats, she hurried back to her body and sank inside. As soon as Steve told her he was finished, she started the reintegration sequence, moving through it as swiftly as she dared. Her voice only trembled a little. It strengthened as she reeled off the list of chosen candidates, the girl’s number first. When she dismissed the class, she watched to make sure the girl made it through the door into the training room before she relaxed.
She glanced at her watch as the rest of the candidates dispersed. Only ten minutes over. The day’s schedule would be delayed, but not disrupted. If Steve continued to help, maybe they could make up the time.
She couldn’t see him, but through their telepathic link he showed her he was standing behind her, his hands rubbing her shoulders. I’m going back to my body and coming here physically. I need to be able to protect you if they try anything else. Check to see if you can sense anything coming in the next hour or so.
